1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to polynucleotide vaccines protective against malaria, and a vector for construction of this and other polynucleotide vaccines. More particularly, this invention relates to vaccines composed of, at a minimum, nucleotides encoding one or more Plasmodium species proteins, and compositions and methods of providing protection against malaria with such a polynucleotide vaccine. Also, the invention includes a plasmid vector including a cytomegalovirus promotor for insertion of nucleotides encoding targets of protective immune responses.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There have been major efforts toward development of malaria vaccines undertaken during the past 20 years. Although a commercially viable vaccine has not been achieved to the time this application is filed, there have been successes in providing vaccine protection. The continued vast investment in vaccine research by both governments world wide and industry shows an expectation of achieving a commercially viable vaccine. A commercially viable vaccine is one that provides protection with minimum side effects, is capable of being produced in quantity, and is stable in storage for a reasonable time under reasonable conditions. These conditions and requirements are well known in the medical and pharmaceutical arts. Even the near misses of total successes (e.g. successes with only a small population) are useful in understanding the mechanisms of malaria and further defining the parameters that will lead to a commercially successful vaccine or treatment. The current status of malaria vaccine development has been summarized in a recent Institute of Medicine Report.sup.1. The introduction to the section on vaccines is included verbatim to provide part of the background for this application.